An air purifier should have a single function—the conditions for the “best air purifier” asked by the founder of Blueair: Katsunori Takita’s “White goods, amazing technology” (page 1/2)

　Speaking of "Blueair", when China's PM2.5 began to become a hot topic, a Swedish air purifier specialist that quickly announced that it could be "removed" and expanded its global share. Manufacturer. It is highly rated in the market for its simple and sturdy manufacturing that emphasizes the speed of air purification and stylish design, but in 2016 it became a subsidiary of Unilever, a major supplier of food, beverages and home products. Attracted attention. We asked Mr. Bento Ritori, the CEO of Blueair, who is visiting Japan, about the manufacturing of Blueair, its background, and future management policies.

Clean air for children

--First of all, please tell us how Blueair was established. I heard that you were originally employed by Electrolux, a global company based in your hometown of Sweden. Why did you decide to become independent?

Litri: I was with Electrolux for about ten years. At that time, during summer vacation, I often took my children on trips to forests and islands in the suburbs. The air there was surprisingly clean, so every time I returned to Stockholm, I was keenly aware of how polluted the air in the city was.

　I want children to grow up in clean air. So I consulted with the company (Electrolux) that I wanted to make the best air purifier, but they weren't very interested. So I decided to do it myself and founded Blueair.

-Were you in charge of air purifiers at Electrolux as well?

Mr. Ritori: After working in the finance department, quality control department, and air conditioner development department, I was finally in the air purifier development department.

--But you didn't get the product you wanted?

Mr. Litori: I don't know what to say, but I was young and passionate at the time, so I couldn't stop myself even when the company said, "Wait a minute" or "Calm down a little." bottom.

――What kind of product is the “best air purifier” that you sought after creating a company?

Litori: The first thing I thought about was the design. At the time, all of our competitors' products looked bad, so we wanted to make something that looked good first.

At the same time, quality is also important. High quality and long lasting. In particular, my goal was to create an air purifier that could quickly supply a large amount of clean air. Quietness and energy efficiency are also important.

――The best style from the beginning is the head Do you mean that you developed everything at the same time towards that?

Litri: Right. In particular, "HEPA Silent" technology was born from the goal of "quickly producing large amounts of clean air." At first, I teamed up with an engineer who was a university professor to proceed with the development.

↓ Overview of "HEPA Silent" technology. Equipped with a deodorizing sheet with activated carbon kneaded into the air intake and a 3-layer filter to remove large particles and odors. Furthermore, an internal ionizer negatively charges fine particles, which are then removed by being absorbed by a positively charged filter. It is said that 99.97% of ultrafine particles of 0.1 μm level can be removed

What made it so successful?

――Blueair sales are growing, did you expect it to grow this much?

Mr. Litri: More than I expected. In the past few years, it has been growing at a doubling pace.

--How do you analyze the reasons?

Mr. Ritori: Many people have come to realize that "the air is dirty", and I think that awareness of air purifiers has increased, especially in developed countries. There is also a survey result that 50% of people in China, where air pollution is serious, answered "If you buy an air purifier, Blueair".

　However, the ownership rate is only a few percent of the world's population, so there is still room for growth. In time, I think we will enter an era where there will be “one in each household” air purifiers all over the world, and after that, I believe that an era will come where it will be natural to be able to see the quality of the air through apps. .